Pictures of Us
by fAteD lOvE
Summary: Chuck/Sarah. Small ficlet/feel-good based on their photo taken at Palm Springs. It seemed to have some significance, since it's been brought up in at least two episodes: "the Breakup" and "the Cougars".


Just a nice happy fic to allow me to keep my sanity this week since Chuck's not on :)

Does anyone what's wrong with the damn document reader thing on fanfiction? The lines are closer than usual, the spacing's screwed up- and it's annoying me. Sorry, my 'tenses' are having a problem again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck- which is probably a good thing, since I'll screw the plot up and hook up Chuck and Sarah in the next possible episode. The lyrics of "Picture of You" doesn't belong to me either.

* * *

_**Pictures of Us  
**_

* * *

_  
This is the clock upon the wall  
This is the story of us all  
This is the first sound of a newborn child,  
Before he starts to crawl  
This is the war that's never won  
This is a soldier and his gun  
This is the mother waiting by the phone,  
Praying for her son_

An agent had to trust their instincts. And her instinct- that sunny, warm, Palm Springs morning- had been to bring her camera.

She hadn't planned on using it, they didn't need it, but she had brought it anyway.

Gazing at him, she could see the light casting a golden glow over Chuck's skin, felt the light breeze, and if she deigned to look at the view behind them, knew her eyes would come into contact with a sight of glinting buildings from the overnight dew, everything clear; normal.

Handing it to Casey, she stood against the beautiful backdrop over the city and gestured Chuck to her.

Now, right now, she was glad that she had the foresight, this picture perfect moment wouldn't be wasted.

_  
Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Hung upon your wall for the world to see  
Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Remind us all of what we used to be  
_

"I'm not exactly photogenic." He warned her.

She just gave him a small smile, drawing his surprisingly strong arms around her waist, covering them with her own, feeling his appendage nudge tantalizingly against her bust. His warmth behind her was comforting, and she tilted her head towards him with a bright smile, face alight, exuding, with joy, as he murmured something in her ear through his grin. The camera flashed unexpectedly, showing a candid, but breathtakingly intimate photo.

Brushing the chipped glass aside, she carefully pulled the pencil out of the frame, not wanting to rip the flimsy card further. Sarah slid it out of the back, frowning as she smoothed the jagged edges around Chuck's now completely mutilated face.

That had been her only real photo of him, _them_, the only evidence of their fake relationship as a hard copy. It was the only picture taken after she had realized she had been irrevocably, hopelessly, compromised and after immense, difficult struggle: come to terms with that fact. It was the only personal thing in her room, and one that she stared at each time she stood in front of the large mirror to do her make up.

She sighed. Truthfully, there had been no need at all to put it there. Only Chuck ever came into her apartment, there was no one to fool, or lie to about it. Bryce had surely seen it, spy observation skills and all; she hadn't had time to hide it when he had come knocking. He hadn't mentioned it to her, hadn't accused her of anything, but surely he had his suspicions...

_  
Confess to me, every secret moment  
Every stolen promise you believed  
Confess to me, all that lies between us  
All that lies between you and me  
_

At first, it had been somewhat of a reminder, that she was still human, part of the real world; it was an unconscious action that her body performed, displaying the frame so openly, that spoke of it's deep longing for a personal connection- to friends, lover, a family.

Over the weeks, it had stayed a permanent fixture- it looked so comfortable there she couldn't bring herself to move it. Every morning, her eyes slid off her reflection to gaze at the picture for a moment; it had become almost a habit -that- and touching Chuck's face gently with her fingers before she left for another bland day undercover at the Weinerlicious.

_  
There is a drug that cures it all  
Blocked by the governmental wall  
We are the scientists inside the lab,  
Just waiting for the call  
This earthquake weather has got me shaking inside  
I'm high up and dry  
_

After the flash had dimmed, she had noticed Casey staring at the LCD screen for a while, she had brushed it off as nothing. She wondered if it had anything to do with the way she had looked in the picture. It was almost unbelievable, the way her skin and bright eyes had glowed, her teeth glinting clearly in the morning light. She looked so happy.

Even after all her efforts in diverting his interest -affection- in her, there was no denying the tenderness of his actions, sincerity in their expressions, their pose together, their closeness, ease, that easily fooled anyone into the fact that they were a couple- could not be mistaken for anything else.

Nowadays though, after Chuck's honest speech at the fountain telling her that their relationship was impossible, the picture acted as a painfully tangible reminder that this was the only piece of him she would ever be able to keep.

_  
We are the boxers in the ring  
We are the bells that never sing  
There is a title we can't win no matter  
How hard we might swing  
_

-that 'tangible reminder' was now ruined beyond repair- She was almost disappointed…

If not for the fact that she knew she would keep on fighting, fighting for another chance of a photo with him, for her to appear in every photo that would be taken -for the rest of his life.

Even better: she would make sure she didn't need just a photo to remind her of him, because when this assignment was over- she would be reminded of _them_- every morning- when she woke up, his mussed rich chocolate brown head would be right by her eye line, and he would be snoozing adorably right next to her.

_  
Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Hung upon your wall for the world to see  
Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Remind us all of what we could have been  
_

* * *

Hey! Just before I published this, I found a link for episode 6 season 2!!! Hope it works...I'll get back to you on that.

This fic wasn't long enough, so last minute addition, I randomly stuck in bits of song lyrics :) Clever. I think the lyrics kind of fit, if you think of it generally overall. Anyway, it's an awesome song. I didn't want to adjust my fic to fit the lyrics, since the end "Remind us of what we could have been" is kind of depressing: although it sums up the charah relationship pretty well.

Since the photo was taken in episode 2, and was already put in the frame in episode 3, I wonder if Bryce actually saw it when he came over? I didn't see it on the bench under the mirror though...

Review? For the love of everything Chuck...

P.S. Someone give me a challenge? Or key words? I'm rather lacking in imagination right now.


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